The Swiss Christmas Spirit

The Christmas vibes in Switzerland are completely different than those in the U.S. Back home, there are Christmas lights on every building and Christmas music playing all the time. In Switzerland though, if any place is completely decked out in lights and blasting Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas is You,” it’s very “American”. But don’t get me wrong – the Swiss definitely know how to get into the Christmas spirit. They have a place so filled with Swiss Christmas spirit, it feels like Santa and his elves are right around the corner: the Montreux Christmas market.
​While there are a bunch of Christmas markets all around Europe, many are like carnivals or food truck festivals, rather than the Christmas-infused market of Montreux. Every part of it is Christmas-themed, from the booths themselves, which look like festive log cabins, to the products they’re selling, like ornaments and nativity scenes, to the foods that they’re serving, like roasted chestnuts and spiced hot wine. Oh, yeah, and Mariah Carey’s Christmas album is softly playing in the background.

So rather than in America, where it’s the constant immersion of Christmas sights and sounds, at Switzerland’s Montreux Christmas market, it’s the sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and feels of Christmas. It’s a full sensory experience meant to immerse you in the holiday spirit.

No matter where you are in the world this holiday season, take some time to get into that Christmas spirit and enjoy the company of the special people around you.